Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Tough Mudder SoCal - My Insane Adventure

Monday, May 30, 2011

(This recap is going to be in two parts. The first, here, is the objective description of the Tough Mudder. The second, still to come, is the way I felt before, during and after running the event.)Saturday, May 28th, I ran the SoCal Tough Mudder. Without a doubt, this was the single most intense, demanding, and inspiring athletic event I have ever done. It was ten miles of rugged terrain, an elevation ascent equivalent to climbing a 300 story building, and a lack of oxygen that comes from running at nearly 8,000 feet altitude.

In other words, the Tough Mudder was exactly what they promised me: Probably the Toughest Event on the Planet. And this is the official description: Tough Mudder is not your average lame-ass mud run or spirit-crushing ‘endurance’ road race. It’s Ironman meets Burning Man, and it is coming to a location near you. Our 10-12 mile obstacle courses are designed by British Special Forces to test all around strength, stamina, mental grit, and camaraderie. Forget finish times. Simply completing a Tough Mudder is a badge of honor.

And this is the Tough Mudder pledge that every Mudder swears before the start:

As a Tough Mudder I pledge that…
* I understand that Tough Mudder is not a race but a challenge.
* I put teamwork and camaraderie before my course time.
* I do not whine – kids whine.
* I help my fellow Mudders complete the course.
* I overcome all fears.

Here is a link to the video I made during the event using a helmet-cam. The times on the obstacles below correspond to their appearance in the video, in case you want to fast forward to a specific obstacle.

And here is a breakdown of the obstacles, and nearly every one of them was done while we were being sprayed with ice cold water:

(06:00) Braveheart Charge – The start of the event, with a wave of 500 people cheering and yelling and charging downhill

(09:00) Boa Constrictor – Crawl through small pipes with sand, mud and grit

(13:00) Kiss Of Mud – Crawl on your belly through mud under low wire 8” off the ground